WEEDSPORT - A bucket filled with pocket change can go a long way in preventing the spread of malaria.
That's what the sixth-grade class at Weedsport Junior High School realized after collecting $400 in coins to benefit the Nothing But Nets Campaign, a grassroots campaign dedicated to saving lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Every $10 donated enables Nothing But Nets to purchase nets for African families to put around beds, keeping away insects carrying malaria.
“It's cool to think that change can add up to a lot,” said Haley Lukins, 11, of Weedsport.
Organized by the sixth-graders in the Student Government Organization (SGO), the coin drive ran the weeks before Christmas with collection buckets placed throughout the junior high and high school.
The last two days of the coin drive the SGO allowed students to guess how much money was collected in the coin jar. One guess was 50 cents and three were $1.
Sixth-grader Aly DeNardo won the contest and received gift certificates to local Weedsport businesses NY Pizzeria, Burritt's Cafe and Jreck Subs. The establishments donated the gift certificates to the school for the fundraiser.
The idea for the coin drive for bed netting came after sixth-grade students read Theodore Taylor's novel “The Cay,” said science teacher Ryan O'Kane. In the novel, which takes place on an uncharted cay off the coast of Panama, one of the protagonists falls ill from malaria.
Reading “The Cay” generated much discussion on malaria and how many people are affected by the disease.
“Many people are losing their lives to this dangerous disease,” said Zac Marshall, 11, of Weedsport.
So the SGO decided to take action and do something for people on the other side of the world.
“I think (students) are amazed at seeing how some coins from your pocket can add up to so much,” said O'Kane. “The money we raised will help people even though they're not local people. It's kids looking at the big picture.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
“It's cool to think that change can add up to a lot,” said Haley Lukins, 11, of Weedsport.
Organized by the sixth-graders in the Student Government Organization (SGO), the coin drive ran the weeks before Christmas with collection buckets placed throughout the junior high and high school.
The last two days of the coin drive the SGO allowed students to guess how much money was collected in the coin jar. One guess was 50 cents and three were $1.
Sixth-grader Aly DeNardo won the contest and received gift certificates to local Weedsport businesses NY Pizzeria, Burritt's Cafe and Jreck Subs. The establishments donated the gift certificates to the school for the fundraiser.
The idea for the coin drive for bed netting came after sixth-grade students read Theodore Taylor's novel “The Cay,” said science teacher Ryan O'Kane. In the novel, which takes place on an uncharted cay off the coast of Panama, one of the protagonists falls ill from malaria.
Reading “The Cay” generated much discussion on malaria and how many people are affected by the disease.
“Many people are losing their lives to this dangerous disease,” said Zac Marshall, 11, of Weedsport.
So the SGO decided to take action and do something for people on the other side of the world.
“I think (students) are amazed at seeing how some coins from your pocket can add up to so much,” said O'Kane. “The money we raised will help people even though they're not local people. It's kids looking at the big picture.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
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